Walk Between the Raindrops

The summer weather pattern is upon us -- which means lots of rain, and lots of, as Wifey says, yoooomidity. 

It's been a challenge to get in my daily anxiety walks. I've begun taking a plastic bag with me to keep my IPhone dry, though my techie nephew Josh tells me it's basically waterproof, anyway.

Thursday was a record low in mileage for me -- a paltry 5.5. Yesterday I brought it back to nearly 9.  I'm treating the walks like I used to treat doing legal work when that was my full time gig -- get a lot done, and then tell Wifey "I'm going to try to get in a few miles before the rain."

Meanwhile, the big news around here has been D2 and Jonathan's search for their first house. They really want some room for their enormous puppy, now nearing 70 lbs, and feel it's time to put down roots.  They looked at lots of places, and made an offer on a new townhouse in an up and coming part of Coconut Grove.

I'm so proud of those 2 -- they are approaching the decision with analysis and data accumulation -- I guess I got that in reverse.  They settled on a place they really dug, and signed an offer.

But then, it turned out that the school it was zoned for was incorrect. They want to be in the Coconut Grove Elementary district -- an A school -- for , Hashem willing, any kids, and also for resale value. Turns out the broker got it wrong -- he told them the house WAS in the district, but, in fact, the house was just outside. A lot of young folks would have already fallen for their place, and gone ahead. Not our kids -- they said, in effect, location was a key part of the deal, and without it -- no deal.

So they'll keep looking for the first abode.  D1 and Joey sent a zillow posting about a house right across the street from them up in Shorecrest, but outside the protective gates of their place. It's actually a pretty cool house -- 1940 MiMo restored by an architect. I remarked that I invisioned my sons in law each on their roofs with shotguns, picking off invading visigoths if things up there got chippy.

But D2 and Jonathan want to stay close to Jonathan's job in the Gables.  I totally get it -- commuting, assuming traffic returns to normal Miami misery , really steals a lot of the time of young working folks. The young -uns are, in many ways, smarter than our generation of dutiful car jockeys who spent hours in traffic each day.

Last evening was a lovely one. Dr. Eric and Dana hosted a shabbat at 6, and Wifey actually made an appearance.  Dogs in New Jersey, owned by Eric's sister Elissa, as well as the very smart Simba in Boca got to say hello to our strange rescue and Special needs Spaniel. 

We jumped off to attend D1 and Joey's service -- and D1 lit the shabbos candles along with Scott and Sam up in Arlington, Va. It was lovely -- Dr. Barry and Josh were in their cars commuting home, but we all wished each other a peaceful sabbath.

After the young parents signed off, Wifey and I FaceTimed with Barry, Donna, and Josh, as they ate dinner. My second martini gave me the perfect buzz, and after my nightly shower, I drifted off, smiling.

Today I'll pick up some Bagel Emporium food, and head up to D1 and Joey's. D2 and Jonathan and the enormous puppy are invited, too -- but not sure if they'll be house hunting or not.

The anxiety of the virus, as well as civil unrest, remain.  I'll probably avoid driving past Downtown, lest I get stuck by a group of young folks convinced that blocking traffic will effect real change.

Thankfully, though, the looting seems to have stopped down here, and was never really that big of a deal.  My heart breaks for NYC, though -- seeing what damage the savages did up there is shocking.

So I keep praying for more healthy and peaceful times. And in the mean time, I'll walk between the raindrops, as Donald Fagen advised...